Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 1,261,881 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,358,331 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,261,881 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.73% of ConocoPhillips worth $828,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,153 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,007 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 52.5% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 65.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,548 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 297,777 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $31,350,000 after purchasing an additional 5,783 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP stock opened at $92.52 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.90. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $91.56 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The firm has a market cap of $117.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. Analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 40.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Profile

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.